Page 55 of Ruthless Legacy

“Archer, don’t hurt him. It’s not his fault,” I protest, wanting to protect my little admirer.

“I need to know exactly what the guy looked like that gave you this parcel.”

Hugo looks like he’s two seconds away from pissing in his pants. “I don’ know. He had shades and a hat on. He was wearing blue overalls. I think he was a courier, maybe.”

“I need more,” Archer insists, gripping him by his blazer. I step up and, ducking under Archer’s arms, I stand in between him and Hugo.

“You need to back up,” I tell him softly but firmly. The anger is radiating off him. I turn to Hugo and smile, trying to reassure him. “Don’t worry, you’re not in trouble Hugo. Is there anything you can remember about this guy? Could you see his hair under his hat? How tall was he? Anything?”

Hugo scrunches his forehead. “No, sorry. He might have had dark hair. I wasn’t really paying much attention to what he looked like. I’m sorry.”

I nod my head and smile again. “That’s okay Hugo. You head off now and enjoy your lunch. I apologise for Archer going all Incredible Hulk on you.”

“That’s okay,” Hugo insists, looking over my shoulder with wary eyes and a tight smile as he grabs his bag and walks backward out of the room. As soon as he’s at the door, he takes off like his arse in on fire. Poor boy. Archer has scared him half to death.

“You scared the poor boy,” I say to Archer as I close the door again.

Archer ignores my comment. “We need to check the school security cameras.”

Seb nods and pulls his phone from his pocket. “On it. I’ll sweet talk Miss Reed,” he says with a cheeky wink before leaving the room.

“Do I want to know how he plans to sweet talk the school receptionist?” I ask them all, and Rafe chuckles and winks at me.

“Use your imagination.”

“Ugh,” Vee exclaims. “My brother is such a dog. Miss Reed is at least thirty.”

“Thirty-two actually,” Rafe informs her, and Verity puts her fingers in her mouth and mimics being sick.

I sit there quietly, my eyes fixated on the dead bird. Who is the sick fucker trying to mess with my mind?

Vee comes up beside me and places her arm around my shoulders, looking at me with concern etched across her face. “Are you okay? You look pale. Maybe we should ditch classes today and do something fun.”

I smile at my friend. She wants me to feel better, and I love that she cares so much. “I have to admit, I’m not really in the mood for school right now.”

“Then let’s ditch. We could go for some retail therapy? Buying clothes always makes me feel better,” she tells me with a wink.

Archer sniggers and Vee serves him a haughty glare. He holds his hands up in mock surrender. “I have a better idea of what might help Scarlet de-stress.”

Verity rolls her eyes. “Any excuse for sex.”

“Actually, I wasn’t thinking of sex, although I agree; it’s a great way to unwind. My idea doesn’t involve getting naked.”

I arch a brow, curiosity getting the better of me. I’m intrigued to see what Archer has in mind.

“You game Scarlet?” he challenges me, his eyes asking me to trust that he knows what I need.

I nod my head. I needed to get out of here and do something fun.

Rafe whistles. “Road trip.”

No doubt Wilbur will receive a call about me missing college, but right now, I don’t care. I pull out my phone and send a text to Kit to tell him I’m cutting classes for the afternoon and that I’ll meet him at home. Probably not the best role-model behaviour to show my brother, but he will understand.

We head out to the car park and as we leave the main entrance; we walk straight into the deputy head, Mr Spencer.

He frowns, pushing his glasses up his nose. “And where do you lot think you are going?”

Archer doesn’t look worried as he takes a step towards him, and I see him gulp in response. “We’re leaving for the afternoon, and you’re going to mark us as being in school this afternoon. Isn’t that right, Mr Spencer?”

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